September 4, 2008 by Barbara.

Aunt Pam brought Reid downtown to meet me for Reid’s annual physical on Wednesday. I don’t know how single parents manage doctor’s appointments. Getting away from school is difficult enough but I know some employers are even more rigid about missing work. With Aunt Pam acting as chauffeur, I needed to miss only 30 minutes of class; without Aunt Pam’s assistance, it would have taken at least 75 minutes. My doctor is great but still he schedules patients only from 8:30 to 4:30.

The nurse took Reid’s blood pressure for the first time that I’ve ever seen (but I missed last year’s physical). Her results were “normal”, whatever that means for a 4 year old. Reid is 104 cm (41 inches) tall and weighs 17.3 kilograms (38.1 pounds). According to the doctor, Reid is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. The doctor was amazed at how big and “grown up” Reid has become. Thankfully, she is a healthy kid and he sees has seen her only for her annual physical over the last couple of years. Knock wood that this will continue.

I answered a series of seemingly unrelated questions that evaluate Reid’s social and physical developments and then received the advice that I should be giving Reid Vitamin D every day (and taking it myself) and that she should have a couple vaccines. One was optional and at a cost but my doctor explained the benefits and said he gave it to his two daughters and I agreed to it. I’m very risk averse and trust in the medical profession.

The questions the doctor asked were interesting but I think they threw Reid off a bit. For example, he asked:
* Does she draw stick people with at least 3 body parts? (Yes, but puzzled. Imagining a head, body and one limb. The doctor clarified that a face with eyes, nose and mouth qualified.)
* Does she speak in full sentences? (Reid speaks in sentences, paragraphs, soliloquays, and more.)
* Does she understand related 3 part instructions? (Understands, sure. She even follows them sometimes.)
* Does she have an opportunity to socialize with other children? (Day care and now school, daily.)
* Does she brush her teeth? (Twice a day. Mostly. Sometimes in the car but still.)

And on they went.

I was reminded that outdoor trampolines, even ones with nets, are accidents waiting to happen. Reid missed the “outside” qualifier and looked worried. It surprised me a bit since she has decided not to take gymnastics anymore. The doctor verified that Reid drinks tap water rather than just bottled water since our tap water has flouride in it but bottled water doesn’t. He noticed her glasses and so didn’t need to ask if I’d followed his direction. I was glad he didn’t ask for details since I only made the optometrist appointment in June, though the doctor said to do it *last* August. The doctor asked me if Reid was drinking homogenized or 2% milk and I had to confess that she drinks skim.  She refuses the other kinds at our house. I was quick to point out that I do give her the fresh cheese (like MiniGo but the President’s Choice MouMou version is much yummier) and full fat cheese. He told me emphatically that I shouldn’t restrict her fat calories. I don’t. It’s all Reid’s fault for wanting to be like her Daddy and me.

At last it was time to get the vaccinations. We’d seen a poster of a very unhappy child with chicken pox while we were waiting and I’d explained that if the little girl had been vaccinated, she never would have got sick. Reid was convinced of the importance of vaccine but didn’t seem to remember having them administered, even though it’s been less than a year since her flu shot. Reid insisted on sitting alone in the chair for the DTPP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertusis and polio) shot and she watched the needle go in and come out again. Her lip wobbled but she didn’t cry out or start to cry. She did, however, ask me to hold her for the Menactra shot. Grandma Joyce, who worries a lot about meningitis because Uncle Roger had it as a kid, was glad I’d coughed up the money to protect Reid from all 4 strains, instead of just the most common one. (Melissa: this is a heads up for you. Grandma Joyce will ask about Dylan and Zachary.)

Back in the waiting room, I realized that I’d forgotten to give Reid some Tylenol. Good mamas remember to give something before the pain happens. I didn’t. Aunt Pam went to the pharmacy for us and I held Reid and we tried to figure out a print of an impressionist painting. Other than feeling crummy - a word that required explanation for some reason - Reid suffered no reaction and ate her supper like a trooper. A trooper that prefers steak and waxed beans to potatoes but that is normal.

All this to say that Reid checked out and, with luck, she won’t see our doctor until this time next year.

Hope you’re all healthy, too.

Posted in Food, Mama, Barbara's family | Print | 1 Comment »

September 4, 2008 by Barbara.

Reid was reluctant to leave when I returned to her classroom at 11:00 Tuesday. She smiled when I came in but continued playing. I told her we needed to go but she thought I was wrong. The returning students were able to stay for the full day and Reid wanted to do the same. Natalie said that Reid had had a “fabulous morning” and that she had participated in all activities. Those 3+ years in day care paid off, I guess.

Reid told me that they sang “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” with only 3 animals, played outside and had bagels and apple sauce for snack. She didn’t remember any of the kids’ names and couldn’t tell us any French words that she had learned, although she said that she had learned one new word. Reid said Natalie is nice and so is the teacher’s aide, Kevin, but she didn’t remember his name either. I did see her playing near the other kids, though.

Reid is very fond of one of the toys that were set out - a set of graduated “blocks” that start with a small diamond and then move to hollow squares. Fully assembled, the blocks make a pyramid. When we first arrived, Reid played with play dough for a bit and then moved to the blocks and she was there again when I picked her up. They’re more challenging to stack than traditional blocks and the results are interesting. Reid may also associate them with being a big kid as Melissa’s kids have them, too.

The classroom is very bright and open. There are windows along one wall that overlook a garden with flowers and hedges, a strip of grass and then the parking lot. There were 3 or 4 tables, each set with a different activity and then blocks on the carpet where circle is held and a little book nook. Reid’s cubby is in an alcove where there is also a sink. The cubby set up is similar to what Reid had at day care, though the alcove is small enough that is will loud and crowded while they’re getting they’re snow gear on this winter. I won’t be there for that part, though, thank goodness! The kids go down the hall to the bathrooms that are also shared with the rest of the recreation complex. At the official “bathroom times”, they post a sign that keeps the general public away and otherwise the children are accompanied as needed. Outdoor play takes place in a little courtyard bordered by the library, hall to the classrooms and the pool (all are connected). I snuck down the hall to the library yesterday morning, past the windows looking onto the courtyard but when I went to leave the library, I realized Reid couldn’t help but see me through yet another wall of windows. I got quite a few chances to see her as I peeked around the bookshelves waiting for outside play to end so that I could get back to the cafe where the other parents were waiting.

We spoke briefly with Dylan, Zachary, Melissa and even Roy (him briefest of all) last night. Dylan seemed interested in Reid’s first day since he had yet to take the plunge but he got only a laconic, “It was good.” Some day, they’ll be able to exchange better information but probably not until they’re old enough to dial the phone themselves, I guess.  

We owe a few phone calls to kind folks who have called recently (this means you, Uncle Roger and Aunt Karin) but by the time dinner is over we’re already late for our going to bed routine. I’m glad Reid is going to bed earlier but we’ve developed slow and bad habits to fill the time she used to stay up. We’ll call, soon. At least I hope I can get things better-organized soon. I have Grandma Joyce and Aunt Pam helping me this week and if I can’t do it with them here, Reid and I will be in for a world of hurt or at least many tearful mornings after too-short nights.

When Pam took Reid to school on Wednesday morning - I can’t take her and get to my school on time - Reid walked away while Pam was signing her in. Natalie told Pam that she didn’t need to stay at the complex, as was written on the integration instruction sheet, because Reid wasn’t going to need her. Pam said she felt a bit lost as she walked away. She had brought a book, knitting an MP3 player to help her pass the 4 hours that she had expected to wait at the complex. Having spent less than half that long in the hard chairs Tuesday, I am sure her bum was much happier.

Posted in School, Zachary, Dylan, Barbara's family | Print | 1 Comment »